A Princes Protection
by Axalea
Summary: VB One Shot. Only when Vegeta hurts Bulma does he realize how much he needs her.


Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, Akira Toriyama does.

A Princes Protection. 

It was a beautiful spring morning, the birds were chirping a melodious tune of joy, a cool breeze blew through the warm, humid air and a certain Saiyan Prince bellowed a call of urgency……

"Dammit, woman! Where the hell is my breakfast?"

Bulma stirred in her sleep and sat up in bed. She looked at her alarm clock. 5:30 a.m. She groaned, and pulled the covers over her head. 'He seems to be getting up earlier everyday; I swear he's doing it on purpose!'

"Get your own breakfast!" She spat at the closed door, hearing a growl coming from the other side.

Vegeta tried turning the doorknob. It was locked. "If you don't get downstairs now and make my food I'll break down the door." He growled.

Bulma wasn't fazed a bit. "Just try it!" She dared him. She mentally slapped herself. 'Better start looking for a new door.'

Vegeta smirked and swiftly kicked down the door. "Humph, I thought you knew me better that that, woman." He made sure to drag out the last word, she hated being called woman and he loved the icy glare she gave him when he said it.

"You're paying for that, Vegeta!" she tried to ignore the little nickname he called her.

"Oh, I doubt that." He stomped over to the bed and yanked her off of it. He was gripping her arm tightly and he noticed she was trying to fight back tears. When he realized he was hurting her he quickly let go. He scowled as she cradled her bruised arm to her chest. "Do you have to be so weak?"

"You should really learn to control your strength, you dumbass, I'm only human!"

He tried to resist grabbing her again. As he was about to say something his stomach reminded him it needed food. "Pfft, whatever." He muttered. He took her and slung her over his shoulder.

"Vegeta! Let go! Vegeta!" She started to punch his back earning a chuckle from the Saiyan. 'Pathetic human' he thought.

"To the right and just a little harder." He laughed at her as she glared at him again. 'Hmm… she's exceptionally pretty when she does that.' He got a shocked expression on his face when he realized what had just entered his mind. 'Ugh… I've been on this mud ball of a planet too long.'

Without another word, or 'weak' thought he carried her downstairs and deposited her in the kitchen. "Now, cook!" Usually he would prefer her mother cooking for him but since both her parents were off on another one of their vacations, which they seemed to go on a lot; he'd have to settle for her not-as-good-as-her-mothers food.

Bulma finally gave up and started taking food out of the cabinets. Of course, whenever she made eye contact with Vegeta she gave him an evil stare. He sat down at the table watching her. He had to admit, she was a beautiful female. He could never bring himself to say that though, his pride wouldn't allow it. He just noticed the skimpy nightgown she was wearing. He sweatdropped, 'maybe I should have at least allowed her to put some appropriate clothes on.'

She noticed him gawking at her and she smirked, which looked remarkably like Vegeta's. He quickly looked away and snorted. She giggled and he scowled at her. God, he hated that girly sound.

Bulma was stretched out on the couch watching television when she heard Vegeta's Gravity Room shut off. It was getting late and she was getting sleepy. She sat up and let out a yawn. Just then the aforementioned Saiyan walked through the living room and paused when he saw her.

"Shouldn't you be out getting drunk with that freak mate of yours or something?" He snapped, hoping for an argument, he had fun screaming at her and seeing her get angry was always fun too.

"Shouldn't you be out getting your ass beat by Goku or something?" she sputtered back. "Besides, Yamcha and I are done for, he's cheated on me one too many times."

Vegeta ignored her first comment, "Are you sure? Or are you foolishly going to run back into his arms again begging him to take you back like you've done so many times in the past?" he asked. "You deserve better than that loser anyway." He said the last part quietly.

Bulma just stared at him. 'Did he just compliment me? What was that?' She turned around, her attention back on the TV. He saw what she was watching and his curiosity got the best of him and he went to sit beside her. He cocked an eyebrow at the screen. It was about the supposed alien crash-landing at Roswell. "You know that's not true, right?" he asked.

"How do you know?" She was disappointed. She had started to believe the people on the TV. He scoffed at her, he couldn't figure out why she would believe that. After all, he, Kakarot, Piccolo, and Kami were the only aliens on this planet.

"What are you, stupid?" He scowled. "No alien race would come to this backwater planet, it's so underdeveloped and the natural resources aren't abundant or useful enough. Humans have ruined it already; they are careless at the harvesting of their resources."

"Why are you here then?" She was quite offended by his insults. "Ugh, never mind, 'to defeat kakarot', I know, I know." She changed the channel to a cartoon. Vegeta took the remote from her and shut the TV off. 'I'm not about to watch that crap.'

"So what's so great about your planet then, huh?" Maybe she could get some information out of him. She has asked about his planet numerous times but he had just yelled obscenities at her and walked away. She cringed, expecting to be shouted at, but was surprised when his tone of voice was soft.

"Vegeta-sei was no better than Earth I guess, it was mostly a barren wasteland, red sky, red dirt, red everything." she looked at him urging for him to continue, he sighed and kept talking. "I can't say much more, I don't really remember it very well. I was locked in the palace most of the time, not to mention the planet was destroyed by Frieza when I was young." He paused; he seemed to be lost in his thoughts. That's when he felt a vibe from Bulma, she was pitying him. He grunted, "Don't pity me, what's done is done, I don't feel bad about it at all. You shouldn't either."

He got up off of the couch and headed to his room. Bulma was left on the couch thinking. 'How can he not feel bad?' she wondered. She came to the conclusion that he was probably lying. He had to be hiding his true feelings. She couldn't help but pity him. He was forced to grow up in Freiza's ship, what fun that must have been. He was trained to not show any feeling whatsoever. She had noticed all of the scars on his body and especially his back. She was sure that he was abused in some form or another. She tried putting the thought in the back of her mind and retired off to bed.

As she passed his room she noticed a light come from under the door. The door was ajar and she decided to take a peek. He was bent over a piece of paper on his desk just staring at it. Just then, one of her father's many cats brushed past her leg causing her to shriek. She lost her balance and started to fall backward. Before her rump hit the ground she felt someone grab the collar of her shirt and lift her back up. She opened her eyes and found herself staring into dark, obsidian eyes. "Be more careful, woman." He pushed her away from him and she slammed into the wall rather hard. 'Oops… did it again.' He quickly changed the subject as he saw her about to yell at him. "What were you doing by my door?"

"Um…" she hesitated, not sure what to say. She couldn't tell him she was spying on him. He sneered at her. "My patience is wearing thin, tell me now!"

"Ok, I was curious as to what you were doing so I looked in your room. I wasn't going to stand there long, honest!" She was starting to get a little frightened by his cold stare. "Get out of my sight." With that he slammed his door in her face. She stood there not moving until his light being clicked off snapped her out of it. She silently walked to her room and went to sleep.

Over the next few weeks Bulma had noticed a change in Vegeta. It wasn't really a change for the better either. He was acting more distant towards her and it seemed as though he was trying to avoid her. She would try to talk to him and he would just stare blankly at the wall behind her or walk away. She wasn't really surprised when she found him gone.

'I have to get this woman out of my head!' the Prince thought to himself as he shot a blast of ki at the nearest mountain, completely obliterating it. He couldn't stop thinking about Bulma, and he couldn't really understand why. At first he would blame the weird feeling in his gut on something he ate, but he knew it was something different. Something really different. It was unrecognizable to him. He'd never felt it before, all he knew was that he had to protect his woman.

'My woman? Ugh….' He yelled and smashed his fist into the ground, the fissure shaking the nearby trees. He watched as birds flew away from the canopy. He had been training in the forest, trying to clear his head. He shot another blast into the trees below listening to the cries of animals being instantly burned up. That sound sent back to him memories of all the people that had died at his hand. He did not regret any of his past purge missions; he did what he had to in order to survive in the universe. He used to feel a little remorse however, when he was forced to kill innocents such as children. He still had nightmares about mothers clutching onto their babies, begging him for mercy. Their cries ringing in his head.

That made him think, would he be able to kill Bulma if he had to? The truth hit him like a ton of bricks. 'Probably not.' The sun was setting; he decided to get back to his hell.

He landed on his balcony when he sensed something. Someone was in his room. He recognized the low ki as Bulma's. 'Grr... what the hell?' He opened the glass double doors. She hadn't noticed him yet. He saw her standing near his desk looking at a piece of paper. It was the photo of his mother! It was the only thing he could salvage from the palace before he was taken away by Frieza. It was the only possession he had, he didn't let anyone touch it. That included her.

Bulma heard a low, feral growl behind her and turned to see what it was. But before she could fully turn around she found herself pinned against the wall. "Vegeta? Vegeta, I'm sorry, please!"

"Can't you keep to your own business!" he snatched the picture out of her hands and tossed it on the floor. She searched for an answer. "WELL!" As soon as he saw he wasn't going to get an answer he grabbed a hold of her neck and slammed her head against the wall. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. This just seemed to anger him further. "STOP. CRYING. NOW. WENCH. STOP!" With every word she earned herself another slam into the wall. Her face was turning blue from the lack of oxygen. She was crying harder, her nails digging into the skin of his wrist causing blood to run down his arm. He looked deeply into her cerulean eyes. What was he doing?

He let her go and she slumped against his chest. Her head was bleeding, and he noticed a large dent in the wall. He flinched, he couldn't believe what he had just done. He picked up her limp form and walked to the bathroom. He set her down on the edge of the bathtub. Her eyes were closed but he could sense that she was still conscious. She cringed as he dabbed a wet cloth to her head. He sighed at her condition, he knew what he did was uncalled for; she didn't even have the power to defend herself. Not that that had meant anything to him before, hell, he would laugh as the weak suffered before him.

He finished bandaging up her head and took her to her room. She was asleep when he laid her on the bed. He stood there staring at her when he saw the heavy bruising on her neck from when he had choked her. Hesitantly he lowered his hand to feel the bruises. She immediately withdrew from his touch. "I'm s-sorry, Bulma." He turned around and walked toward the exit.

"I forgive you."

He stood shocked by the door. 'She was awake?' He mentally cursed himself for being so careless. He rested his head against the door. "How can you forgive me after what I did… damn, I beat you... I'm no better than Frieza…" He said this barely above an inaudible whisper but she still heard him.

"It's not your fault really, you were brought up that way. It's a big change for you living here, you can't just kill like you used to, you have to act toward other people with civility. It must be hard." She continued, "And never say you're like Freiza. You're different in that you still have time to change your ways. Yes, you are going to hell when you die, neither you nor I can deny that, but that doesn't mean you can't be happy for the rest of your life."

He stared at her and just nodded, unsure of what to say next, but she spoke first. "Vegeta?"

"What?" He walked up to her bed.

"Could you…. Uh, would you like to stay with me tonight?" She stared at her blanket, suddenly finding the stitching interesting. He slowly walked to the other side of the bed and sat down next to her not sure of what he was doing. She inched closer to him and touched his arm which tensed up the second it was touched. "Why are you so tense?"

He sighed, "I was beaten severely as a child. There were many men on Frieza's ship that hated Saiyans, and I was an easy target for their vengeance. It's normal that I be tense, I've vowed to trust no one."

When he didn't hear anything from her he thought that she had fallen asleep. Until he felt a hand on his shoulder turning him around, where her lips met his. He'd never felt anything like it before, he felt so warm. She broke the kiss and rested her head on his chest. He instinctively put his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. He laid like that for a while waiting until she had entered a deep sleep. He began thinking as he watched her slumber. 'I can never let this happen to her again, not by me or any other man. I need her help. I feel that only she can change me. So this is why Kakarot took a mate.' He smirked. "I promise to protect you Bulma."

End

A/N Heh heh, that was my first fic ever. Hope you enjoyed it at least a little. You might be seeing more of me here.Spare a review for me?


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